The Witcher TV series

[Beorning]

So, anyone stoked about the upcoming Witcher TV series by Netflix?

I admit I haven't read much of the books, but I think it's quite cool that this series will happen. Let's hope Netflix doesn't screw this up...

BTW. Here's the first test clip with Geralt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua8UyBm1g1g

What do you think? For me, he looks a bit weird. Overall, here in Poland, a lot of people suddenly started saying that the previous actor to play Geralt looked superior... which is funny, because not many people liked that version until now

[Tolvo]

Big fan of the books and games. I'm not a fan of this clip they show of Geralt, he doesn't look right. I think a part of the problem is it probably isn't him in full make up which is necessary for him. It makes it look currently kinda low budget with the wig and outfit. I wasn't a fan of Cavill in any of the DC movies but I'll have to see him in action as Geralt to really judge. I wonder how closely they will base it on the books personally. Like here we see Geralt isn't as white as he's supposed to be in the books.

[Beorning]

Well, here's the original TV Geralt:



Not sure if Cavill is an improvement..?

[Tolvo]

I did try to watch the original one time, wasn't really liking it. I think that guy looks the part more than Cavill but his costume is not as good.

[Beorning]

The guy's name is Michał Żebrowski. A fine actor, although I think he's more involved with stage plays these days..?

Anyway, let's hope the Netflix series won't end up like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg6bz4x8Rvo

I mean, there's a reason why everybody tried very hard to forget that this series existed

(the blackhaired-woman in the clip is Yennefer, BTW.)

[Tolvo]

I'm really hoping they rely more on practical effects for some things than just CG.

[Deamonbane]

That's what Geralt is supposed to look like. Like, if I'm being picky, I'll say that Geralt isn't some hunk. He's a freak. He's not muscly. He's lean, light.

That said, if they get Cavill looking like this pic, I'll be okay with his casting.

[Atarn]

I liked Cavill in MFU, and MoS. So I'm gonna give him a chance. Though Netflix is a bit on my shit list for the treatment they gave my favourite book series. (Altered Carbon) Though I hope I will be more pelasantly surprised by this one.

On a sidenote, Geralt the Ugly Ass Freak...Did they tone that down in the games for him to become Geralt the Manwhore?

[Deamonbane]

Never ugly ass freak. Just freak. He's a bit more of a manwhore in the games than in the books, but in the world, there are enough freaks around for him not to be considered good-looking, if different. Def not Cavill's level of good looks, though.

Side note, read the Richard Morgan books, loved Altered Carbon the Netflix TV series.

[Atarn]

AH, read a lot of people over at 9Gag that commented on how hideous he should be in the books. (I read the books, but never noticed him looking horrible there so didn't know if I misremembered. Thank you.)

I found it a dud, but to each their own :)

[Tolvo]

Not exactly ugly, but what they thought was cool at the time, which was Conan the Barbarian. Geralt in his first visual representation looked like this.

https://www.gamepressure.com/gallery/html/article/444260505.jpg

With the games and modern comics they try to make him more romantic, because he is a romantic figure. Geralt is supposed to be a bit of a sex icon, and what sex icons look like changes with time.

[Deamonbane]

That's actually pretty similar to what he looked like in the first and second games. It's the third one that they got him looking more romantic.

[ladybee]

I'm excited! I've only played number three but I'm looking forward to seeing how Netflix does with it

[Starcaller]

Netflix are notorious for screwing things up so I have little faith that they'll do the books/games justice. They've already kind of made a little mess of the casting so uh... I'm pretty skeptical.

[Deamonbane]

Are they though? I mean, most of the TV shows that they've been making have been well done. I wouldn't say that they have that notorious reputation.

[Tolvo]

It can depend on who is involved in the project. I do follow the writer on twitter she seems cool and like she knows what she's doing, and clearly has read the books(Explicitly she said it is not based on the games but the books).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Schmidt_Hissrich

https://twitter.com/LHissrich

She's worked on West Wing, Daredevil, and some others.

[Starcaller]

I'll give her the benefit of the doubt but I'm not sold on this. The Witcher has a very specific mood and tone to it and I fear there are certain... factors that will stop her from trying to touch on them, mostly out of personal reasons. As I said, she already ruffled quite a few feathers with the casting so here's hoping it doesn't only go downhill from there.

[Tolvo]

I dunno, she seems to be very personally invested and holding on to keeping to the things from the books, though if you want stuff from the games then yeah she wants to focus just on the books. Casting is another matter though yeah, I guess we'll see how Caville does. I don't think a lot of them really have the look of the characters, but maybe they'll be good at playing them. Caville I dunno about because he's been in some things I'd consider pretty bad, but also he is usually really limited in what he can even do in those things. Geralt is a tough role, and he doesn't look tough so he really needs to sell it with personality which I'm unsure if he can do.

[Starcaller]

That's the understatement of the year. Beside Caville and the kid who plays Ciri, the rest are just off by miles and miles. I'd say more but I fear it gets political and this ain't the place for that, but yeah. I appreciate what they tried to do, cast a bunch of nearly unknown actors and actresses fronted by a celebrity in hopes of raising their status/popularity, but I really don't like most of the other things they did so far. So uh... I don't know.

[Deamonbane]

Ah, now I understand.

[Tolvo]

Ah, yeah it can be tricky. Politics is core to The Witcher, and while hers are in line with the author's I get still having concerns about how she'll handle that. We'll have to see how she fully adapts it and what she fully adapts. Judging by the cast and who they are playing we are getting parts in The Last Wish.

[Starcaller]

As I said, I avoid speaking my mind entirely because I don't want to possibly cause a political argument here, but one thing is certain, one particular casting choice will change the background and lore of one place in the Witcher's world and I am most definitely not okay with that.

[Tolvo]

Ah, I just mean in regards to Sapkowski himself being involved sort of, he's not in control of it, and saying he wanted things like that to change.

https://twitter.com/LHissrich/status/994977654750167040

I'll see if I can find his old interviews on the topic, they are in Polish I had them explained to me but also used google translate(Which isn't 100% accurate) and have known people who talked to him. It seemed like something he'd support from all I've seen. I'm trying to find his essay on criticizing "Slavic Fantasy" as a subgenre. Though he has also talked about how some things in that essay did not come out as intended. And how it was a criticism of writing in the genre not that it is wrong to slavic folklore itself.

Here is a later interview where he talks about that one.

https://sapkowskipl.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/rozmowa-z-andrzejem-sapkowskim/

I'm trying to find the original, I think it was in Nowa Fantastyka Magazine but I do not speak Polish. Oh wait I think I found it.

https://sapkowskipl.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/pirog-albo-nie-ma-zlota-w-szarych-gorach/

It is really hard to find a lot of his essays and talks when you don't speak Polish unfortunately, as I don't(My family is partially Polish but I'm 4th generation and didn't grow up around the language).

[ppr128sol]

Sapkowski has had limited involvement with the show and is notorious for basically saying "others can do what they want with the rights after they pay me for them; the characters and stories I write are how the world really is, though."

I think they're trying to have things each way- Cavill looks way more like the Geralt of the games, and it suggests they're going to play Geralt in the show more similar to them as well rather than the books, where he kind of delights in being blunt and unpleasant to people, especially rulers. That changes the tone of the character a fair bit, because I can't see Cavill carrying off grim, sardonic, and just so over everyone's nonsense, you have no idea. I mean, in The Witcher, the first short story of The Last Wish, Geralt deliberately provokes a bar fight just to slaughter people because that's the fastest line to Foltest. I'm not sure I can see Cavill selling that.

It's a high bar to clear. I wish they'd tried to do a bit more with Polish representation as this was their chance to shine, especially given all of the negative stereotyping out there. Oh, well. See how it goes. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will hit BSG reboot levels.

[Tolvo]

I have read the books I am familiar with them. Geralt is quite different even between books. The Geralt in the short stories we see and in the main books are very different in character, early Geralt is far more cruel but the Geralt we see in the main saga has a lot of empathy for others though he doesn't like to admit it.